BioShock 2 Multiplayer
BioShock 2: Fall of Rapture is the fully-featured Multiplayer experience developed by Digital Extremes and included in BioShock 2. The game takes place approximately a year before the events of the first BioShock, and depicts the events of the Rapture Civil War. The player's character is a product tester for Sinclair Solutions, a company owned by Augustus Sinclair which is attempting to cash in on the conflict between Andrew Ryan and Atlas, while conducting field testing for Ryan Industries. Each team has its own narrator providing voice-over on the events of the match, Atlas' side has a strong-spirited woman who refers to the enemy as "Fascists," while Ryan's team is organized by a man who calls the enemy the "Parasites." Plot Fall of Rapture features its own plot which follows the player as they accumulate more experience points represented as ADAM, as well as prologue and epilogue scenes to respectively open and conclude the game. The prologue starts on the Eve of 1959, at the Apartment which each participant receives from joining the Sinclair Solutions Home Consumer Reward Program. The player slowly recovers from their first injection of a Plasmid, delivered in a pack with a few weapons and other genetic enhancements as a first batch of products to test. As they recover, a speech from Andrew Ryan is broadcast on TV, in which he makes a toast to the coming year, wishing Rapture to recover from its current tensions. Once the player finishes to listen to the first company message from Sinclair Solutions' recording machine, an emergency announcement informs the player of a recent incident at the Kashmir Restaurant, thus marking the beginning of the Civil War. The player is then able to start matches, gaining experience from each session and unlocking new content from each Rank. Those include new Plasmids and experimental ones, weapons, Gene Tonics, but also new masks and melee weapons to customize their avatar. It also unlocks messages from the Sinclair Solutions program, detailing briefly the situation in Rapture as the player progresses through the Bronze Club, Silver Society, Gold Circle, Platinum League and Diamond Partners, new Audio Diaries from the Log Recorder in the Apartment, detailing the personal story of each of the playable characters, and new quotes from the Rapture Standard local newspaper and from various individuals commenting the war. The epilogue, happening after a whole year since the prologue, is played once the player reaches Rank 40. As they listen to the final message from Sinclair Solutions, which previously promised the "Mystery Vacation" to the most tenacious participants becoming Diamond Partners, a huge tremor interrupts the recording, shaking up the Apartment and sending the player to the ground. An emergency announcement from Andrew Ryan is then heard, informing of the near end of the Civil War, but also the coming of a new threat. He informs the city that its secrecy had been breached by the crash of an unknown airplane, and that a survivor is infiltrating the Lighthouse as he speaks. He then declares that all duties are put on hold until this threat had been confronted, while the main body of the plane appears falling from the surface and lands brutally right in front of the Apartment's windows. Playable Characters There are currently a total of ten playable characters, two of them formerly being pre-order bonuses (Zigo and Blanche) then sold as a separate downloadable content, and the last two introduced with the first released DLC. Each character has their own back story, a unique melee weapon, and unique dialogue during gameplay. ;Standard Characters :Jacob Norris - The Welder :Barbara Johnson - The Housewife :Danny Wilkins - The Athlete :Naledi Atkins - The Pilot :Buck Raleigh - The Businessman :Suresh Sheti - The Performer ;''BioShock 2'' Character Pack :Zigo d’Acosta - The Fisherman :Mlle Blanche de Glace - The Actress ;Sinclair Solutions Tester Pack Characters :Oscar Calraca - The Playboy :Louie McGraff - The Jailbird Locations Player's Apartment An optional multiplayer lobby is the interactive apartment in Rapture, belonging to the player's character. In the apartment, players may listen to new messages on their answering machine that they unlock after each new level. These messages advance a unique narrative and provide new background information that the player can only find through playing multiplayer. The place can be resumed into several main areas, each serving a functional purpose: *'The Recording Machine': yields a new message each time the player gets promoted in the Sinclair hierarchy, and announces them their promotion. *'The Gene Bank': allows the player to customize their loadouts, choosing which Plasmids, weapons, Gene Tonics, and upgrades they want to equip. *'The Wardrobe': allows the player to customize their character's appearance, as well as their melee weapon (the change is purely cosmetic, though). *'The Log Recorder': allows the player to listen to recordings made by the characters, revealing part of their backstory as well as their descent into insanity through splicing. *'The Newspaper Box': allows the player to check the game's leaderboards, as well as their own stats. *'The Bathysphere': enables the player to enter matches, check their stats in between matches, select which character they wish to play during the match as well as read a brief summary of their backstory. *'The Record Player': Plays music that the player can listen to while in the apartment. The farther the player is from the machine, the fainter the music. Multiplayer Maps There are ten different maps representing various areas from BioShock. These locations have been re-tooled to fit a multiplayer environment. Six extra maps are added through the Rapture Metro Pack DLC, and are three re-tooled locations from BioShock and three others from BioShock 2. As is typical with this game series, a narrative is built into these environments, giving the player a unique look at Civil War-era Rapture. ;Standard Maps :Arcadia :Farmer's Market :Fontaine's Home for the Poor :Fort Frolic :Hephaestus :Kashmir Restaurant :Medical Pavilion :Mercury Suites :Neptune's Bounty :Point Prometheus ;Rapture Metro Pack :Dionysus Park :Fighting McDonagh's :Fontaine Fisheries :Pauper's Drop :Siren Alley :Smuggler's Hideout Character Advancement The player earns ADAM by playing online matches and completing trials. As they collect ADAM, they level up. With each level advancement they will unlock new weapons, Plasmids, and Gene Tonics to customize their loadout. The player can create three separate loadouts and switch between them when respawning. It is prudent to use a loadout that complements one's teammates in the team-based modes. At the start of the multiplayer experience, the player only has access to the Pistol and the Shotgun, as well as the Electro Bolt, Incinerate!, and Winter Blast Plasmids, with Gene Tonics. However, after advancing through the game they will receive the Machine Gun, followed by other new tools. Alongside combat-oriented gifts, players are able to change their character's cosmetic traits. For example, one may endow their character with a mask or change their melee weapon (this does not affect its combat traits, however). Along with leveling, there are "trials" in multiplayer requiring the player to complete a certain task, such as killing a certain amount of enemies using a specific weapon or Plasmid. Ranks There are fifty levels of character advancement and five "clubs" (overarching ranks). The names of the clubs are the Bronze Club, the Silver Society, the Gold Circle, the Platinum League, and the Diamond Partners. Upon reaching level 40, the player reaches Diamond Partner status, which represents the ultimate level of advancement through the ranks. Membership of the aforementioned "clubs" is awarded when the player reaches a certain rank. Trials Trials are challenges which, upon completion, grant the player an ADAM reward. Trials require the player to either fulfill a specific task several times, or achieve a much harder challenge on one occasion. There are three types of Trials: Weapon Trials, Plasmid/Combo Trials and General Trials. Each type contains various skill testing tasks. ADAM Rewards When a player contributes in some way to their team or to themselves they receive an ADAM reward, the size of which depends on the action. Here is the list of known ADAM rewards as follows: *'Kill' Reward: 10 ADAM (20 if playing Last Splicer Standing). Granted upon killing an enemy. *'Assist' Reward: 5 ADAM. Granted upon dealing damage to an enemy without having dealt the killing blow. *'Big Daddy Takedown' Reward: 100 ADAM. Granted upon killing the Big Daddy. *'Hack' Reward: 10 ADAM. Granted upon successfully hacking a machine. *'Research Photo' Reward: 10 ADAM. Granted upon successfully researching an enemy corpse. *'ADAM Vial' Reward: 10 ADAM. Granted upon collecting one of the ADAM Vials scattered across the level. *'Killing Streaks' Reward: 50 ADAM. Granted upon killing three enemies in a row without dying. *'Big Daddy Suit' Reward: 50 ADAM. Granted upon picking up a Big Daddy Suit in the level. *'Trial Complete' Reward: Varies depending on the trial and its level. Granted upon completing a trial. *'Little Sister Capture' Reward: 100 ADAM. When you capture a little sister and deposit into a vent. Gameplay Game Modes There are seven different game modes included in BioShock 2, and a last one added as a Downloadable Contents. Each supports up to ten players. Team-based game modes divide the players into two factions: those fighting for Andrew Ryan and those battling under Atlas. Scores are marked in the top right corner of the HUD, with the one at the top representing the winning score. The score in yellow represents which team the player is playing for in that match. Also when playing in teams, allies will always be represented in blue, while opponents are represented in red. This also prevails for hacked devices and zones in Turf War game mode. ;Game Modes list :Survival of the Fittest :Civil War :Last Splicer Standing :Turf War :Capture the Sister :ADAM Grab :Team ADAM Grab :Kill 'em Kindly (added with the Rapture Metro Pack and as a free stand-alone DLC) Weapons A total of seven different weapons are available to the player, though some are only unlocked when leveling up. Weapons have been altered from their original version from BioShock as to balance gameplay for multiplayer matches. Melee in particular is different in that the player can perform a quick-melee attack without having to switch to a melee weapon. Each character has their own unique melee weapon, although this is only a cosmetic change. Along with the weapons present in the original game (save for the Chemical Thrower), two new weapons are introduced in the multiplayer: The Nail Gun and the Elephant Gun. Each weapon can be upgraded with a choice between three upgrades per weapon, although only one upgrade can be equipped per weapon. These weapons do not have unique ammunition: unlike the singleplayer campaign, ammo takes the form of cartons of buckshot, and picking one up will fully restore all ammo to both weapons the player is carrying. The Research Camera exists in the form of a research option: passing near an enemy corpse opens a prompt offering the player the option to research the dead enemy. Doing so renders the player temporarily vulnerable, but grants them a damage bonus against that enemy upon researching them, and will only be lost if the player gets killed by the researched enemy, or wears a Big Daddy Suit. ;Weapon list :Pistol: Unlocked from the start :Shotgun: Unlocked from the start :Tommy Gun: Unlocked at Rank 2 :Grenade Launcher: Unlocked at Rank 6 :Crossbow: Unlocked at Rank 10 :Nail Gun: Unlocked at Rank 14 :Elephant Gun: Unlocked at Rank 18 Plasmids Plasmids have returned and some can be used in a defensive fashion as well. To give an example, Geyser Trap (a prototype of Cyclone Trap) can be deployed in a large room and used to leap onto higher platforms to escape or set up camping spots. The player unlocks additional Plasmids upon gaining higher ranks. Up to two Plasmids can be equipped per loadout, and the player has access to a selection of eight different Plasmids, three of them multiplayer-exclusive. Some Plasmids have had their effects modified for gaming purposes. For example, Electro Bolt will still prevent enemies from moving, although they will still be able to shoot. Likewise, enemies hit by Winter Blast will have their speed severely decreased instead of being frozen solid (although they can still be shattered). Plasmids can also be combined with the environment or, in some cases, other Plasmids. For example, the player can use Incinerate! on an oil slick to set it aflame, and can use Electro Bolt and Geyser Trap together to create an instant-kill trap. ;Plasmid list :Electro Bolt: Unlocked from the start :Incinerate!: Unlocked from the start :Winter Blast: Unlocked from the start :Aero Dash (multiplayer only): Unlocked at Rank 4 :Geyser Trap (multiplayer only): Unlocked at Rank 8 :Telekinesis: Unlocked at Rank 12 :Houdini (multiplayer only): Unlocked at Rank 16 :Insect Swarm: Unlocked at Rank 20 Gene Tonics The player's character gains new Tonics when leveling up. Up to three Tonics can be equipped at a time, and the player can choose from a selection of seventeen different Gene Tonics, each granting the player a passive bonus. ;Gene Tonic list :Expert Researcher: Unlocked at Rank 3 :Security Evasion: Unlocked at Rank 3 :Speedy Recovery: Unlocked at Rank 7 :EVE Saver: Unlocked at Rank 7 :Back Stabber: Unlocked at Rank 11 :Metabolic EVE: Unlocked at Rank 15 :Sabotage: Unlocked at Rank 19 :Repairman: Unlocked at Rank 22 :Speedy Hacker: Unlocked at Rank 24 :Slugger: Unlocked at Rank 26 :Leg Up: Unlocked at Rank 28 :Fast Feet: Unlocked at Rank 30 :Deadly Machines: Unlocked at Rank 32 :Headhunter: Unlocked at Rank 34 :Big Game Hunter: Unlocked at Rank 36 :Death Trap: Unlocked at Rank 38 :Resurrection: Unlocked at Rank 40 Becoming a Big Daddy The player can become a Rosie Big Daddy by finding a Big Daddy Suit, which spawns randomly in the maps. Once the player wears one, he will have access to the Rivet Gun, six Proximity Mines, and a special Stomp attack which stuns nearby enemy players. However, the player will lose the ability to use Plasmids as long as they remain in the suit, and will also lose all research bonuses he may have acquired previously. Friendly Big Daddies produce a blue light from their portholes while an enemies one's shine red. In Survival of the Fittest, the Rosie's portholes shine yellow-green. When turning into a Big Daddy, the player's health will be significantly increased, although it will no longer regenerate. Killing one also yields a significantly bigger ADAM reward, which places said enemy player as a prime target. Once the player has been defeated, the suit will spawn again. Downloadable Content The following are the list of all downloable content for the multiplayer game of BioShock 2: *''BioShock 2'' Characters Pack *''Sinclair Solutions Tester Pack'' *''Kill 'em Kindly'' *''Rapture Metro Pack'' Related Media *BioShock 2 Multiplayer Credits *BioShock 2 Strategy Guide *Deco Devolution: The Art of BioShock 2 - Official artbook included in both special editions. *Sounds From The Lighthouse - Official score tracks. Bugs/Glitches * An odd "sweeping" sound has been heard randomly under several Multiplayer matches. Category:BioShock 2 Multiplayer Gallery B2Mconcept.jpg|Concept art for the Multiplayer. Videos es:Multijugador de BioShock 2 fr:BioShock 2 Multijoueur Category:BioShock 2 Multiplayer